Don Azpiazú

Justo Ángel Azpiazú (Cienfuegos, 11 February 1893 – Havana, 20 January 1943), better known as Don Azpiazú, was a leading Cuban orchestral director in the 1920s and 1930s.^[1] His band introduced authentic Cuban dance music and Cuban musical instruments to a wide audience in the USA. It was his Havana Casino Orchestra which went to New York in 1930, and recorded one of the biggest hits in Cuban music history, the "Peanut Vendor". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.^[2] The band included a number of star musicians such as trumpeter Julio Cueva and singer Antonio Machín. Azpiazú also used North American singers such as Bob Burke or Chick Bullock to help popularize the genre.^[3]

References

1. Giro, Radamés 2007. Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba. La Habana. Vol 1, p79.
2. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 19. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
3. Yanow, Scott 2000. Afro-Cuban Jazz. New York. ISBN 978-0-87930-619-9